mcdonald



3 Sheets-sheet,

J. MGDONALD. BRICK KILN.

No. 83,394. Patented oct. 27,1868.

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3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

J. MGDONALD. BRICK KILN No. 83,394..` Patented Oct. 27, 1868.

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JoHNfMCD ONA LD, or NEW. YORK; N. Y.

Letters Patent No. 813,394, dated October 27, 1868.

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Schedule referred lto in these Letters Patent and making parl: of the seme.

To all whom 'it 'may concern.- Be it known that I,JOHN McDONALD,'of the city, county,and State of New York, have invented certain i new and useful Improvements in Kilnsfor Burning Bricks; and. I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference bemghud to the accompanying drawings, making part f of this specification, in which- Figure l is'a side view of a section of the kiln; Figure 2, a-longitudinal verticalsection; and vFigure 3, a cross vertical section. y The same letters indicate like parts in all the iigures. My said invention relates-to improvements Ain kilns for' burning bricks, described in and secured by Letters p Patent glauted to me, and bearing date, the 27th day of November, 1866.

In the accompanying drawings, A represents along.

building, which ,'I prefer to construct of brick, and conf i sistiug of two parallel side walls, a a, which, by prefer,-

ence, should be: bnilt'double, with anair-space, b, in the middle.' The ,kiln-space or tmmel 13 between the two side walls, is covered by a double-arch roof, c, with an aire-space, d, between the twoarches. To avoid the necessity'oi making the side walls of greatthickness, to, resist the thrust of thea'rchroof, strong iron rods,

e, may be used to connect the two side walls at the'base of the arch. The foundation, C, of this building should be made of strong mason-work, and I prefer to have it inclined, thal't the platforms or kiln-cars may descend by gravity. Both ends of this tunnel-like building are .provided wilthi-doors, f,'(on1y one shown in the drawings, so thatA they can be readily opened and closed.

v`Along the, whole length, and'extending for some distance beyond each end, are formed four (more or less) parallel tracks, consisting of rollers, g, mounted on suitable parallel rails, h, all in the same inclined plane.v

A series of lmetallic quadrangular platforms, D, is

formed cfa width nearly equal to the width of the inside of the kiln or tunnel B. I prefer to make them square, although they maybe longer or shorter than 1 the width. Their front and rear edges should fit close.

The under surface of these platforms -is tobe pro'- vided with rails, i i. t t', corresponding in number with the number of rows of rollers g, and either the lower surface of these rails shouldbe grooved, to run on the v rollers g, or the rollers should have their j peripherics grooved, and therails i made ,tot them.-

The sides of the platforms aremade with downwardprojecting flanches, jj, extending down below the upper bricks on the platforms, and prevent them from being overbumed. Such being the object, it will be obvious that other and equivz'ilent means may be substituted for the'anches j j running in sand; but I have described this as the best means, in my judgment.

l Each platform is provided with a longitudinal cogged rack, l, about the middle of its width, the c ogs of which are engaged .by a pinion, in, on a horizontal shaft, n, which extends to the outside of the kiln, and there lprovided with a cog-wheel, o, engaged by a pinion, p,

on a shaft, q, having crank-handle, fr, by means of lwhich the platforms can be moved along the tunnel. j 'Iwo or more such mechanisms may be placed along the kiln.

j And these platforms should eitner be made wedgeformed, that is, gradually thicker from their upper to their lower edges, so that, when resting on the rollerways, their upper surface should be level, or, as the equivalent thereof, the upper surface of each platform' may be made in the 'form of steps, as represented in iig. 4., as the objet is to have the upper surface of each platibrm level, or composed of a series oflevel planes, that the bricks to be burned may be piled thereon properly; but if desired to dispense with the advantages due to the inclined base of the turmel, the platforms can be made level, and they will then be made with their upper and lower siufaces parallel. The bricks to be burned are stacked on each platform, as in an ordinary brick-kiln, as represented at E, with an archway, S, extending across, in which to build the fires; and the side Iivalls a a are formed with apertures, corresponding with the archways S, and provided with doors, S', to give access to lires. Other apertures, t, may be made through the side y'valls, near the top, through which to observe the progress of the burning, and these may be provided with doors, or may be closed up, when desired, by luting or otherwise.

There is a chimney, F, at the upper end of the kiln, and tl'iischimney connects with the kiln at about the level with-the upper surface of the platforms, that the heat may the more cffectually act on the npperranges of bricks In a kihi oi" about one hundred feet in length, the platforms D should be 'about five feet in length', and there should be about five archway-doors S on each side,and their distance from centre to centre should be equal to the length of a platform, that the doors may correspond with the archways S; and in a kiln of suoli proportions the door nearest the upper end of the kiln should be distant therefrom about forty feet, and, as the chimney is at the upper end of the kiln, 'and the 'ires cannot be .made in the archways until each lplatform in succession reaches the door nearest the Vupper end, the bricks on the platforms, between the end Vof the kiln there will` be a spaee of about lthirtyfive feet in lcngthwithou t doors, that the bricks on. the platforms, andv passing the lower set of doors, may' be permitted gradually to cool down before they are discharged at the lower end.

After' the kiln has been fairly started, and filled with platforms and stacks of bricks, so soon as thebricks on the platforms next to the discharge-end are in a suitable condition to be exposed to the atmosphere, the lower door is opened, the platform run out, the door closed, the whole series of platforms rnu down, the upper door opened, a fresh plat-thun introduced, and the door closed.

As the bakingprogresses, and the platforms of baked bricks are discharged at one end, the stacks of fresh bricks introduced at the ripper' end are gradually dried and warmed up by the gentle heat in that part of the kiln beyond the upperset of doors, and by the time that they get to the upper doors, they are then in a condition to be safely subjected to a high heat. The fire can then be made in the arohway, through the doors in the side walls; and as the platforms progress toward the discharge-end 'of the kiln, and so soon as it is observed that the bricks on a platform are sufliiently burneed, the iire for that stack is permitted to burn out, or is extinguished, and the bricks gradually tempered, the heat being gradually less towards the discharge-end of the kiln. In this way the bricks, after being burned, are permitted to cool down gradually before being taken out of the kiln into the open air, as it is Well known that if bricks are discharged into the open at too high a temperature, they will crack and split.

The track on which the. platforms or kiln-ears travel maybe extended to any distance required from both ends of the tunnel, and such tracks may be formed on the upper surface of platibrni-cars running on lateral tracks, for the convenience of discharging the burned bricks where desired.

And, although I have above described the track as being formed of wheels, the plati'omns as being provided with rails to runon the roller-tracks, I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to such, as

it Will be obvious that the platforms can be provided with wheels to run ou a track of rails, and it will also be obvious that some of the advantages of my said invention can be availed of without the use of wheels, by sliding the platforms on ways.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, in kilns for burning bricks, is-

'Ihe tunnel or kiln, provided with a door at each end, and with a chimney, and with apertures through the side walls, for the management of the fires, substantially as described, in combination with movable platforms, on which the bricks to be burned are to be stacked, with archways in which the fires are to be made for burning the bricks, substantially as and for the purpose described.

.IDHN MCDONALD. Witnesses:

A. DE LACY, WM; H. BISHOP. 

